After Las Vegas, I certainly didn’t think it would be this soon we would see another event like it–like the one in Sutherland Springs Texas. Did I think we would see that type event again? Yes. I just didn’t think it would be this soon. And these will keep happening. Why? I’m sure for many reasons, but my own view is they will keep happening because we love our rights, our guns, more than we do people.
But that isn’t why I’m writing this post. I want to say something about double standards.
If someone with darker skin, from another country, whether here legally or illegally, had committed the atrocity in Texas, there would have been no talk of “thoughts and prayers” or that we should, out of respect for the dead, not speak of changes to policies and laws. There would have been no talk of, well, “The problem is just sin in people’s hearts” and that this is just a “heart” problem.
No, there would have been immediate talk of changing immigration laws or policies, or the need for “extreme vetting,” or even talk of going to war against whatever nation or terrorist group this person came from or was a part. We would not have waited one second before we found who we might take our vengeance out upon or what laws or policies needed to be changed or strengthened—all this would have happened before the bodies were even cold.
However, if a white, male, American citizen commits these acts of terror and evil, we sigh, throw up our hands, and say, “Well, what can we do?” It is just the evil in their hearts. It has nothing to do with the current gun laws or policies, it is just a “sin” problem and how dare you even bring such trivial matters up as we grieve the dead.
Really? Then why wasn’t that air-tight logic applied in the other cases (For instance, the recent New York event where a truck was used to kill people or any other “terrorist” attack)? And are Americans just more “sinful” and “evil” than the rest of the world? Why is it that these types of mass shootings only happen on a regular basis here (See here)?
Further, the whole “sin” and “evil” hearts line sounds like a dodge at this point. Why? Because that’s what it is: a dodge. If every time something bad happened we just deflected to evil and sinful hearts as the cause, we literally would have no reason for any laws or policies to begin with. We would just throw up our hands and live in a chaotic violent world.
But we don’t do that. There are some problems we immediately move to address through the law, policy, and public perception. And others, like these mass shootings, we do not. Why is that? Why the double standard?
Folks, we have a problem. And the problem isn’t mental illness. Although the problem is a type of mental illness—it is the type of illness where we believe doing the same thing (nothing) over and over will produce a different outcome.
There are several good takes on these mass shootings here, here, and here.
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